


But For Now Let's Get Away

by 2edge4u



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Waltzing, post season 2 wishful thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-09-29
Packaged: 2018-04-23 23:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4896766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2edge4u/pseuds/2edge4u
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fight with Vordie and dean!perry is finally over. Carm and Laura decide to get the hell out of town. Sorry about how gross this is (not).</p>
            </blockquote>





	But For Now Let's Get Away

**Author's Note:**

> So, ukulelekatie wrote this prompt and asked for a fic to be written so all due credit goes to her for the idea. I probably took it in a bit of a different direction than she intended, but I hope you like it anyway! (More editing to be done when I've have some sleep).

“Come on, just grab enough to get us through a few days. I want to get out of here right now,” you say.

“Where are we going? What about everyone else?” Laura asks.

“Please. I just want to get you out of here. Once we get far enough away, we can call a cab or something. We’ll figure it out once we are at least twenty miles away from this god forsaken place. Everyone else will be fine. They don’t need us anymore, Laura. My only concern is you.”

“But after everything” she takes a shaky breath “and everyone we’ve lost, I don’t know if I can just leave,” Laura says and then looks down. Her hands fall from yours and she folds her arms tightly, as if she’s still terrified. Broken. You place your hands on her shoulders and slide them down her arms, pulling her closer to you.

“Cupcake, I know that everything seems hopeless right now. With all that’s happened, it’s amazing that we’re both alive. I’m not taking any more chances. We may have some things to work out, but it can wait until we get out of this house. I want to get as far away from this campus, and as far away from this life as I can. I want to revisit all my favorite places in the world but I’m only going if you go with me.”

“Ok, let’s go. I have to tell everyone so they don’t think something happened to us but let’s go,” she says, with a bit more life in her eyes.

“Yeah?” you ask.

“Yes. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to just forget about everything and run away with you like you asked me to that night before we… we broke up. I just couldn’t. I just had to help them, Carm. I made such a mess of things. I had to try to fix it,” she says with tears threatening to fall. You pull her tight against you, wrapping your arms around her back and she does the same while laying her head on your chest. It’s obvious by how she’s shaking that she’s crying now and you’re ready to break.

“Laura, I’m sorry for giving up on you, although I want you to know that I never really did. The moment those words fell out of my mouth and I walked away from you was by far the most heartbreaking moment of my entire existence. I never stopped loving you, not even for a second. I was always worried about what plan you were going to come up with next. You are so recklessly brave and I just couldn’t stand by and watch something happen to you. The important thing is that we survived. We have our chance now, Laura. We have our chance.”

You both stand there in the bedroom of Maman’s apartment, Laura’s crying harder and you can’t help but cry too. Yes, she hurt you badly, but the idea of losing her too is just unfathomable. Laura is the only good thing you have left and you’re never going to let go of her again. After you both calm down enough to focus on the task at hand, you make a quick plan and set out to execute it as quickly as possible.

You suggested that Laura just leave a note for her friends about where you’re going, but she’s insisting on saying good bye in person. With all the notes Maman and her lackeys left after abducting all those girls last semester, you can’t blame her. So while she’s packing some clothes and other things, you call Kirsch and ask him to come back to the apartment. He agrees and should be over pretty soon since you told him you’ll both be gone within the hour.

Once you hang up, you help Laura finish packing the bags and get ready to leave everything behind. You walk out of the bedroom with the bags in one hand and Laura’s hand in the other. After setting the bags down on the chair you and Laura shared so many times, you start grabbing a few books off the shelf to get you through at least a week on the road while Laura goes upstairs to get her friends. She comes back down a few minutes later with LaFontaine all but carrying Perry down the stairs and J.P. close behind them. I’m still shocked that Perry survived being possessed by my mother for such a long time and being stabbed. Twice. She was really lucky that the blade only consumed the evil inside her, being my mother. If ginger twin number one wasn’t so painfully innocent, things may have turned out very differently for her. It will take her quite a while to get over the side effects of everything that happened to her, but twin number two is apparently a very good amateur doctor based on the way they stitched up both you and Perry.

“Perry, we could have all talked upstairs. You didn’t have to come down here,” Laura offers.

“No, it’s fine. Honestly. I’m really not in a lot of pain, just exhausted,” Perry says as she sits on the couch and tries to hide her discomfort.

Just before Laura can say anything back, Kirsch comes rushing through the door.

“Whoa there, Kirsch. Slow down,” LaF says.

“You bros ok? Carmilla called from Laura’s phone and Carmilla would never call me on purpose and I just kind of freaked out and ran over here,” Kirsch says, resting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.

“Sorry… bro. I didn’t mean to make you worry. Laura and I just need to talk to all of you and I needed to get you back here. I suppose I could have been more specific as to why,” you say.

“So everyone’s ok?” he asks again.

“Yes, Kirsch. We’re all fine. Come have a seat,” Laura says gently and leads him over to sit next to Perry. Laura joins you in front of everyone, takes your hand and inhales deeply before beginning to explain everything.

“You’re probably all wondering why we wanted to talk to you. First of all I want to apologize for everything. None of you asked for this,” she squeezes your hand tighter and takes a breath before continuing. “I dragged you all into this fight and now you’ve all suffered horrible consequences and loss because of me. I could never say anything that will make up for it but I want you to know that I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I never wanted anyone to die.”

Just about everyone in the group appears to be crying, Laura being the one that’s crying the hardest. You pull her into your side before continuing for her.

“Now that all this is over, it’s time that we move on. Everyone has each other’s numbers so it’s not like this is good bye forever. Laura and I are getting out of here and you all should do the same. Immediately, before the next tragedy strikes the walkways of Silas.”

“Where will you be going?” J.P. asks.

“Anywhere and everywhere but here,” you state without hesitation.

Laura pulls back and asks “do you know where you all will go?”

“I just want to go home,” Kirsch says.

“I can’t go home like this. What will I do?” Perry asks rhetorically.

“Perr, we’ll get a hotel for a while and figure things out later,” LaFontaine says.

“No, I have a better idea. I have a home in Salzburg that I won’t be using any time soon. Why don’t you all stay there? It’s only about two and a half hours away from here and there’s plenty of room. I just have one condition,” you say.

“Name it,” LaF responds.

“Take young blood over here with you. He’s going to need help controlling his cravings and I won’t be around to teach him. I know what it’s like as a young vampire. The insatiable blood lust you feel at all times, even in your sleep is almost like torture. He needs your help if he’s going to remain on the good side of things.”

“Is that ok with you Perr?” LaF asks.

“Of course it is, I just want to get out of here. Thank you, Carmilla. Thank you both for saving me. Saving us,” Perry says.

“Well, we wouldn’t have had to save anyone if I wouldn’t have-“

“Laura, stop. What matters is that we’re alive to move on and have a chance at a normal life. One without everything that being a student at Silas brings,” LaF interrupts.

You turn around and go through your bag to pull out a set of keys. You write down some numbers and the address of the house in Salzburg before returning to the group.

“Here are the keys, alarm code and address to the house. If you all can spring for the taxi out there then the house is yours. I also wrote down the combination to my safe. There’s more than enough money for the three of you to stay there as long as you want to. Don’t leave until you’re ready,”

“Miss Karnstein, we couldn’t possibly take your money,” J.P. says.

“Look, as far as I’m concerned that house and everything in it is yours. I have more than I know what to do with so if I could help you all out then I guess that’s the right thing to do. Laura and I will be fine, we just want you all to be ok too,” you say. Laura slides her fingers down the back of your wrist, opening your hand and lacing her fingers with yours while leaning in to kiss your cheek and you swear in that moment that Laura is the only thing that has ever made you feel alive.

Everyone exchanges hugs, much to your dismay, and says goodbye. You know that this won’t be the last time you see these fools, and you’re not entirely opposed to the idea. Kirsch runs out the door to catch his flight home and you gather your bags before walking to the door with Laura.

You look around the apartment one last time. So much of your time over the years has been spent with Maman. Although it wasn’t the normal mother-daughter relationship, she still meant something to you. She saved you from the throws of death and showed you a world beyond your imagination. Because of Maman, you had Mattie in your life and you’re grateful for that, however short-lived it may have been. You force yourself to take a deep breath while Laura hugs Perry one more time. With an exhale, you let go of everything. All the pain, anger, sadness and grief flow out of you and in this moment you can only look forward to the life you’re starting with Laura. You both wave good bye one more time and you’re out the door. It’s time to leave Silas University for good.

* * *

 

We walked as fast as our exhausted bodies would carry us until we were off campus property. We found a little diner, went inside and sat at the booth closest to the door. You ordered some hot cocoa for both of you and called for a cab. The dispatcher said it would be around twenty minutes so you ask Laura if she’s hungry and she just shakes her head.

The waitress comes back with the cocoa and you sit in a comfortable silence, sipping the cocoa with one hand and holding Laura’s hand over the table with the other. She’s just staring out the window, watching the people walk by. All these people, going about their daily lives as if the apocalypse hadn’t just been thwarted by a useless vampire and a couple of nosy college kids. Laura looks back to you and her sad eyes meet yours. You tug on her hand and she’s making her way around the table and over to your side of the booth in a matter of seconds. She folds into you as if it’s where she belongs. You hold her closely and kiss her forehead lightly while you wait for the taxi. Neither of you really need to say anything at the moment because you’re both so relieved to have each other that you don’t want to ruin it.

The taxi arrives so you throw some money on the table, nod at the waitress and take Laura and the bags outside. The driver puts the bags in the trunk while you open the door for Laura to climb in. She slides over so you climb in next to her, placing your hand on her leg and turning your hand over so she gets the hint to hold it; she does.

The driver gets in the front seat and asks “Where to, ladies?”

“The Grand Hotel Wien in Vienna. Could you take us there? Money is not an issue,” you say.

“Yes, absolutely. We will need to stop for some fuel. Will that be alright?” the driver asks.

“Do whatever you have to do to get us out of here,” you say.

You stop at the nearest gas station to fill up the car. You go inside to get Laura some water and maybe a snack, but she won’t let you go without her. I don’t think either of you will be able to do that for a while. Once you’re on the road, Laura lays her head in your lap and you’re running her fingers through her gorgeous hair when she asks “so why Vienna?”

“No particular reason, honestly. This hotel is the one of the best and I just want a few days alone with you before we go anywhere else. Sound good, Cupcake?” you ask, with a smile pulling at the corners of your lips. Laura sits up and turns to look at you.

“Sounds perfect. I missed you so much, Carm. Thank you for not giving up on me. I can’t live without you and I found that out the hard way,” she says.

You let that smile finally break free and you soon find her smiling back at you. You reach your hand up to the back of her neck and pull her into a sloppy and imperfect kiss. It’s full of so much love and desperation but it’s everything you’ve ever wanted. Anything that Laura could ever give you is what you want. Soon enough, both of Laura’s hands are cupping your face softly and drifting toward your hair to pull you even closer to her. You pull back just enough for her to take a quick breath before tilting your head and kissing her even harder, but then you hear someone clearing their throat and you remember the driver in the front seat. Whoops.

“Uh… sorry,” Laura says.

“No need to apologize, ladies. You both look like you’ve been through a lot. I just didn’t want someone from another to call my supervisor since the phone number is on the side of the car. I’ll get you to your hotel as quickly as I can. I promise,” he says.

Laura lays back down in my lap and quickly falls asleep. I think this is the first time she has really slept in a while. The driver turns on some music to make it a bit less awkward and while his taste in music, or lack thereof, is deplorable, it’s better than listening to his gross mouth breathing for the next few hours.

It seems to take forever but we finally pull up to the hotel. You brush Laura’s hair behind her ear and gently shake her awake.

“Carm?”

“I’m right here. We’re at the hotel, sweetheart. Come on,” you say as you open the door for you to get out. Laura sits up and you take her hand and lead her inside. You walk through the rotating door and up to the front desk.

“Good evening, my name is Emma how may I help you?” the hotel associate asks.

“Hi, we need a room for at least a few days. Actually, a suite if you have one available,” you answer.

“Do you have a reservation with us?” she asks.

“No, we don’t. We didn’t know we would be taking a trip so I didn’t think to call ahead. Just find us the best room you have available and I’ll pay whatever price,” you say and wrap your arm around Laura’s waist.

“Not a problem, let me take a look,” she says and starts going through her computer. You look over at Laura and she’s looking over toward the door. You squeeze her a little tighter and she comes back to you, leaning further into your side.

“Well, it appears that we have one deluxe suite available. It is our top level suite and all hotel amenities are included in the price. How many nights will you be staying with us Miss…”

“Karnstein. Ms. Hollis and I will be staying for at least three days, right Cupcake?” you say. Laura nods and Emma smiles before putting some more information into the computer. “Here’s my credit card. Do whatever you have to do, we just want to get some rest. How do we get there from here?”

Emma snaps her fingers and a young man comes running. “Jakob here will take you directly to your room and will deliver your bags momentarily. Here are your keys and please call down if you need anything at all. I am more than happy to accommodate you. Thank you for your stay Ms. Karnstein, Ms. Hollis.”

“Thank you, Emma,” Laura says while you walk with her and this Jakob kid toward the elevator. None of you say a word on the way to your room, but you arrive in a few short minutes.

“I will bring up your bags in a few minutes, miss. Is there anything else that you’ll need at the moment?” Jakob asks.

“Yes. First, don’t bother knocking. We will be unavailable for at least a few hours. Just let yourself in and drop the bags by the door. Also, please have dinner delivered at 8:00 pm.” Jakob nods. “Cupcake, what do you want?” you ask.

“Cheeseburger and fries. Oh, and a chocolate milkshake,” she says shyly.

“I’ll take the same. Can you make that happen for us?” you ask him.

“Yes ma’am. That will not be a problem. Is there anything else I can do for you?” he asks.

“Not at the moment, thank you,” you say while handing him a generous tip and turning to unlock the door of your suite.

“Wow,” is all Laura can say as you lead her inside. The combination of the Victorian era furniture and room decor is breathtaking. You remember feeling the same way the first time you stayed here with Mattie. You lead Laura by the hand through the living room and out onto the balcony. You step behind her, wrap my arms around her waist and rest your chin on her shoulder, breathing her in while we look out onto Ringstrasse Boulevard. You feel her put her hands over yours and hold you closer to her.

“I can’t believe we got away, Carm.”

“Neither can I, but we did. We’re free from all of it Laura, and this is just the start. We’ll stay here for a few days and then go wherever you want. I have a few places I want to show you but I’ll take you wherever you want to go. That’s if you still want to go. If you still want me,” you say. She spins around quickly in your arms with a pained look on her face.

“Of course I want you! I’ve almost lost you too many times and I’m never going through that again. I’ll go anywhere with you,” she says.

“Good,” is all you can manage to get out before she tangles her hands in your hair and pulls you in for a kiss. Even while standing underneath the pink and blue colored sunset that’s falling over historic Vienna, Laura is by far the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen and you’re overwhelmed that you’re finally able to kiss her again after waiting for far too long. The way her body fits into yours is like a sign from the cosmos that you two were destined to find one another. You don’t know that a perfect love like this has ever existed between two people before you, because you don’t know how anyone else could ever have it this good. She is everything you’ve waited 334 years to find and she was definitely worth the wait.

“Come on, let’s check out the rest of the room! Laura says excitedly after pulling back too soon for my liking but you can’t help but smile and follow her anyway. Her ability to go from incredibly sexy, to absolutely adorable and back again within a matter of minutes will be forever mesmerizing to you.

She’s leading you through the living room, over to the fireplace, into the kitchen that is surprisingly fully stocked, into the bedroom containing the most inviting bed you’ve ever seen and finally into the bathroom. This bathroom is incredible. Everything from the floor to ceiling marble, to the intricately carved molding and gold fixtures were stunning. There’s a huge shower room with seating inside and a rather large spa tub. You’re sure that you and Laura will find a few ways to put them both to use.

You’re standing in the doorway separating the bedroom and bathroom, watching Laura take in every detail of this suite. Sometimes I forget how sheltered her life was growing up with her Dad. I cannot wait to take her around the world so I can see every little smile and reaction she makes. Just as you’re about to walk back into the bedroom, you notice her start to unbutton her shirt, although she’s still facing away from you.

“You want me to leave you so you can shower?” you ask.

“I most definitely do not want you to do that,” she says while releasing the last button and her shirt falls open as she bends over to run a hot bath. She’s adding some soap to the water and you walk over to her. Once she stands back up, you make quick work of ridding her of the rest of her clothes and she does the same for you. You climb into the bath, and it’s a bit too hot but with Laura standing like that in front of you it’s hard to care about much else.

She climbs in to sit in front of you and after reaching forward to make the water a bit cooler, she leans back into you and everything is right again. The feeling of Laura’s skin against yours is a sensation unrivaled by anything you’ve ever experienced. She sighs as if this is the happiest she’s ever been and you feel the same way.

You sit like that for a while; arms around her waist, gently tracing hearts into her skin, kissing her shoulder and neck and just taking in as much of Laura as you can get. It hits you in this moment that losing her would have been the thing that finally left you broken. Laura is what keeps you grounded.

You grab a wash cloth, put some soap on it and begin to gently wash her cuts and bruises. You were both beaten up and cut up pretty badly from the battle and while you’ll be fine, Laura wounds really need to be taken care of. After cleaning all the wounds on her chest and stomach, you pick up her left arm and begin to wash it slowly. Laura turns her head and starts to kiss your jaw lightly. You quickly wash the other arm, paying close attention to the large gash on her forearm before turning your head so her lips meet yours.

She turns her body and kisses you even harder. She sighs and whimpers into your mouth and you can’t help but drop the wash cloth in favor of wrapping your arms around her and pulling her close. Before things can really get started, she pulls back and picks up the wash cloth and begins to wash the wounds you have on your neck and chest. Each time she comes across a new cut or bruise on your skin, she has this pained look on her face.

“What’s wrong, Laura?” you ask.

“Nothing’s wrong. Well, I guess it’s just that seeing you like this is reminding me of how close I was to losing you… again. I can’t lose you, Carm. I love you,” she says. Her eyes close and a single tear rolls down her face. She loves you. Oh my god, Laura loves you.

You reach up with one hand, lightly grab her chin and pull her into a kiss. You whisper “I love you too, Cupcake. So much,” against her lips before placing your other hand on her lower back and deepening the kiss. She ends up in your lap and you’re gladly drowning in each other when you hear commotion coming from the living room so dinner must have been delivered.

“Hungry?” you ask.

“Starving. Oh, and I guess I could eat dinner too,” she says, pulling you back in for a kiss. You laugh against her lips and stand up still holding her, as if it were no big deal, but to a vampire it’s really not. She wraps her arms around your neck and holds onto you and you’re not sure she’s ever going to let go. You don’t want her to let go.

You both put a robe on and go out to the living room to find your bags by the door and dinner already set at the dining table. There was a platter of cheeseburgers and another with curly fries, tater tots, steak fries and onion rings with every kind of sauce you could imagine to dip them in. There are two hand-spun milkshakes and couple of sodas as well. Laura’s eyes lit up with excitement when she saw the dessert menu they left and you couldn’t help but laugh. Laura starts with the various fried potato foods while you fix yourself a glass of A positive. You have a couple of fries and half a burger, but you really needed some blood to get your strength back. Laura was apparently pretty hungry herself since she devoured her meal in record timing.

You put the blood and remaining food in the fridge, and decide that the cookie dough cheesecake Laura has her eyes on should probably wait for tomorrow. You a few things out of your bags and head back into the bathroom. You both brush your teeth, put on a tank top and some underwear before climbing into bed. God damn is this a comfortable bed. You look over to Laura and find her looking like she’s in pain.

“I’ll be right back,” you say before kissing her cheek and getting out of bed. You make your way into the bathroom and find at least a little bit of medical supplies. You go back over to Laura, sit on the edge of the bed and pull her up toward you.

“Come on, let’s get you all bandaged up so you can actually sleep tonight,” you say.

“Carm, you don’t have to. I’ll be fine,” she says.

“I don’t _have_ to do anything but this is something I definitely want to do. Taking care of you is anything but a chore,” you reassure her.

She smiles and leans in for a chaste kiss before sitting back and letting you work. You dress each wound you discovered in the bath earlier; applying medicine, then gauze and finally taping it up tight. You are so careful to be gentle with her. You don’t want to make her pain any worse than it already is. You give her a few aspirin to help with the pain. She tries to offer the same to you but you just remind her that all your cuts and bruises will be gone in the morning. She only looks a little jealous.

You make love that night. It is the most gentle and passionate experience of your more than three centuries on this planet. It’s tender and rough, calming and exciting all at the same time. Unlike the last time, you no longer have the fear of impending doom looming over your heads. You’re free of everything and it’s so easy to get lost in her. Each kiss sets your insides on fire, melting every part of you until you’re a dripping puddle in her hands. Every time she touches you, you feel like you’re suddenly alive again. If your dead heart could ever beat for anything again, it would be for Laura Hollis.

* * *

 

A few days at the Grand Hotel Wien turn into almost two weeks before you even realize it. You had planned to rest for a day, take her around to see the sights and be out of Austria by the third day. Well that plan went to crap when you didn’t even leave your hotel room for four days straight. The only reason you left on the fifth day is because you were running out of blood and were able to reach an old friend that lives in town. You head to his apartment and pick up the cooler before taking Laura out to lunch at Steirereck. While you’re not really hungry for human food, you want Laura to experience the best this town has to offer and this restaurant is a part of that. She all but drags you back to the hotel after lunch and you don’t leave the room for another two days. You can’t get enough of each other but neither of you want to do anything to change that.

We spend the rest of our time in Vienna seeing the sights. You take her to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Schönbrunn Palace, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and to see _Tristan und Isolde_ at the State Opera House, but every night you return back to that hotel for your favorite part of the day. Being alone with Laura.

Once you finally leave Vienna, you spend the next four months traveling all over Europe and anywhere else Laura’s heart desires. This is the first time you’ve been so grateful that you ended up with all of Maman’s money you can give Laura the life she wants. You know she’s going to want to finish school and have a career of her own, but you’re just happy that you can support her through all that.

We fly to Bruges, Barcelona, Rome, Prague, Florence and Corsica, staying a few days to a week in each place. We stayed in hotels, seeing the local attractions and eating the local cuisine, all while catching up on all the time we lost when we weren’t together. It’s gotten to the point where you think you crave her touch at times. You're a pretty grumpy person anyway, but if you're without Laura for too long you get downright vicious. We eventually end up at your home in Edinburgh and stay there for about a month.

You spend your days there relaxing and falling into a comfortable domestic lifestyle with Laura. You may go into town on occasion, but you mostly stay home. You sit on the couch reading something out of your disgustingly large library while Laura is either laying in your lap, watching some dreadful thing she found on the tv running around taking care of the house or you. You’ve never been one to be particularly active so being able to relax at home with her for a while has been amazing.

One night you’re on the balcony with Laura, sipping a glass of B negative when you ask her “so is there anywhere else you want to go, Cupcake?”

“Well, there is one place, one person rather that I would like to see. Then we can really start our lives together.”

“Your dad?” you ask.

“Yea, he just has no idea about anything that’s happened. I mean, he knows that something happened but I just want to see him to assure him that I’m safe. I would really like for you to meet him, Carm. He’s going to love you,” she blurts out.

“How do you know that? Most people don’t like me. I’m kind of terrible,” you say.

“You’re anything but terrible to me. You may be all grumpy and broody sometimes, but that’s part of why I love you. You are who you are and I just so happen to be head over heels for you. He will love you because I do,” she says and pulls you over for a kiss.

“Ok, we’ll go see your dad. I’ll meet him and I’ll even dress nice. I need to make a good impression here you know.”

“Oh? Why is that, Carm?” she asks and wraps her arms around my neck and presses her forehead against mine.

“Because I plan on having you around for a long time, maybe even forever and I figure I kind of need your dad’s approval or something to make that happen.” You’re kissing and whispering _I love you_ to each other when the sun finally sets on your last night in Edinburgh, at least for a little while.

You head out the next morning for Laura’s childhood home, but you convince her to make one stop first. The flight seems to take an eternity. You assured Laura that the stop wouldn’t take very long, that you’ll only be there for a few hours; if that. Once you land and climb down the stairs of the jet, Laura looks at you like you’ve just made the worst decision ever. She doesn’t know what you have planned so she doesn’t understand why the hell you would bring her here.

“Seriously, Carm? You needed to stop in Styria?”

“Yes, there’s something I’ve always wanted to show you but we needed to wait until it was safe,” you say, hoping for the best.

“I just can’t believe that after everything, we’re back here.”

“I told you we’re not staying very long and we’re not even going to Silas. We’re not even going to get close to that hell hole, I promise.”

“Ok, but I hope this is going to be worth it. I really miss my dad, Carm.”

“I know you do, sweetheart. We will be back on this plane in an hour. Ok?”

“Ok,” she says and smiles for the first time since she got off the plane. We get into the car I had waiting and I drive to Schloss Eggenberg as fast as I can. We pull up to the gates of Eggenberg Castle and are let in only to find peacocks roaming everywhere and the look on Laura’s face is something I’ll never forget. My god she is so beautiful, especially when she’s smiling. We’re immediately led inside, as you’ve arranged for a private tour. You convince the tour guide to go somewhere else considering that you’re only interested in showing Laura one room in this enormous place. The ballroom.

You lead Laura into the ballroom by the hand and you can barely contain yourself. You don’t know whether you’re more nervous or excited to tell Laura where you are, but you’re here and there’s no time like the present. You stop and face her once you reach the middle of the ballroom.

“Carmilla, what are we doing here? What is this place?”

“This is the place where everything first changed for me.”

“You mean…”

“Yes. Remember when you put on that ridiculous sock puppet show to illustrate my backstory?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Remember when I told you that I was murdered while attending a ball in 1698?”

“Oh my god, are we…”

“Yes, this is where it happened. This is where I died, Laura.”

“God, Carm. Why would you want to come back here? I don’t understand,” Laura says as she grabs your hands and pulls you closer to her, lacing your fingers together.

“Because, I’ve realized something over the last few months. I’ve been through a lot in my long life, death, whatever. I was murdered in this very spot when I was just eighteen, turned into a carnivorous monster by an even worse creature who masqueraded herself as a mother figure, all while intending to use me solely for the purpose of committing  acts of debauchery in order to serve a gross ancient fish in the ground. I was locked in a coffin filled with blood or decades and I’ve even been shot with a silver arrow.”

“How is this supposed to make me feel any better?”

“Well, I realized that while everything that happened to me is terrible. My past experiences have hurt me in ways that have turned me into this broody, angry person. Before I met you Laura, I was out of control. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. I used to be so angry all the time. I wished that Maman had never turned me. I wished that I would have died that night, so I never had to go through the pain my death, or undeath has brought me. But now I know why everything happened. It all makes sense now.”

“Carmilla, what are you talking about?” Laura asks.

“Everything that happened somehow carried me through more than three hundred years and what would have been five lifetimes so that I could meet you. All the pain and torture I experienced is somehow worth it now because I finally have you. I used to dream that I never attended that ball here more than three hundred years ago because I could have had what I thought would have been a normal life. But now, I’m glad I did go because I would go through all that again if it means I get to be with you in the end.”

Laura’s crying and can’t seem to find the right words to say so you wrap an arm around her lower back to pull her face to face, chest to chest and waltz with her like you’re eighteen again and you have your entire lives ahead of you and it feels like you just might have that anyway. You hold each other close and spin around that room, enjoying all of that whirling to the sound of the only music you hear, the beat of Laura’s strong and unwavering heart.

You dance for a few minutes longer, trying to ingrain this moment in your memory forever. Eventually you take one last look around and head back to the airport. You’re back on the jet in no time and headed for Laura’s house.

“So, what happens after we get to your house?” you ask, afraid of what may happen after Laura sees her dad. Will she want to stay? Will her dad accept you? You feel so nervous and that just pisses you off. You’ve never gotten nervous about human things, but I guess this is different because it’s Laura.

“What do you mean?” she asks, taking her headphones off and turning toward you.

“I mean, with us. What happens with us, Laura?”

“Well, I don’t know. At this point I’m pretty sure I can call you my girlfriend again, right?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Ok, good. Well I’m not exactly ready to go back to school. I think another semester off will be good for me,” she says.

“I think that’s a great idea. So you want to stay with you dad then,” you say, looking away from her.

“I didn’t say that, Carm.” You look back at her. “Of course I miss my dad and I’ll want to see him every now and then, but I want to keep staying with you, maybe even make it a permanent kind of thing?” she says and looks hopeful.

“I would like that very much,” you say and pull her into your lap. You put your hands on her hips and she’s kissing you with her hands in your hair. Even though you had to wait 316 years for this, everything is finally perfect.

You spend the rest of the flight discussing which home you were going to move into, and eventually settle on your Tuscany home. You’ll stay there for a while and when Laura’s ready to continue school, you figure out where you’re going to move next.

You rent a car at the airport and Laura plugs her address into the GPS. Luckily it will only take around thirty minutes to get there. You are a bit nervous to meet Laura’s dad, but if you plan on spending forever with Laura then you need to get this over with. You realize you’ve been shaking your leg most of the way over only when you feel Laura place her hand on your thigh in an attempt to calm you down. You take her hand and kiss her palm, pushing her hand into your cheek. You suddenly feel a lot better.

You pull into the driveway of Laura’s childhood home a few minutes later and she can barely wait to get out of the car. It’s a very modest home, but it must have been a great place for Laura to have grown up. There’s a treehouse in the backyard, a huge open field next to the house and plenty of neighborhood kids to play with.

“Come on!” she practically yells as she jumps out of the car.

You quickly follow her and she grabs your hand to lead you up to the front door. She’s digging in her pockets when the door flies open to reveal a giant man with a baseball bat standing on the other side.

“Princess?” the man says.

“Hey, dad. I missed you so much,” Laura cries and falls into her dad’s arms. He’s holding her while she cries and soothes her gently.

After a minute or so, he pulls back and asks, “aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend here, Laura?”

Laura lets go of him, walking over to me and wraps her arm around my waist.  She pulls me in close to her and kisses my cheek before turning back to her dad. “Dad, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Carmilla Karnstein.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this it was hella fun to write. I only cried twice so good job, me. Love y'all.


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